Stoker's Research

Bram Stoker was the business manager of London's Lyceum Theatre, working for the legendary actor Henry Irving — who many believe inspired Dracula's aristocratic menace. Stoker spent years researching Eastern European folklore, corresponding with scholars, and studying maps of Transylvania.

He originally set the novel in Styria (Austria) before discovering the Transylvanian setting and the historical Vlad the Impaler, whose patronymic "Dracula" he borrowed. Stoker never visited Romania, but his meticulous research created a geography of dread so convincing that Transylvania tourism became a major industry based entirely on his fictional geography.